The Lightest Touch
by Pyroluminescence
Summary: The brothers are presented with another seemingly trivial lead on the Stone, and prepare themselves for another disappointment. However, they remain unprepared for what else this journey might have in store for them. Elricest, armor!Al, lime, WAFF, plot
1. Chapter 1

**The Lightest Touch**

_Chapter One_**  
**

**Obligatory Warnings: **Elricest, yaoi, borderline shota, lime

**Themes: **Fluff, WAFF, Action/Adventure, shounen-ai, softcore, pre-Ishbal, armor!Al Elric-centric. Paired Ed/Al and some hints of Al/Martel.

**Description: **The Elric brothers are presented with another (seemingly insignificant) lead on the Philosopher's Stone. Prepared for disappointment, they head out to investigate. However, they remain unprepared for whatever else this journey might have in store for them...

**Notes: **Gosh, it's been so long since I've written fanfiction!! It's really amazing to be able to dip back into it again! Watching Fullmetal Alchemist was really like meeting a new best friend for me, and at the risk of sounding cheesy, I can honestly say that not a moment of the series kept me sitting still. I bit my lip through Edward's pain, smiled through their happiness, laughed at the military's antics, and squealed at every other quote. xD What touched me most of all was the devotion of those two brothers. LESSTHANTHREE I've just fallen in love with the whole idea. Yes, this is ELRICEST. It starts out very platonic, but gradually gets very, very incestuous and even a little lime-y. If this bothers you, please put on your big kid pants and click the back key. :) The entire story is EXTREMELY fluffy, but with not-so-subtle undertones of incest. Okay, blatant incest! Hey, I come by it honest! ...Wow this is long. You even read this? Haha.

* * *

"Are we that desperate, Nii-san?" 

Somehow, when his brother was the one asking it, the question seemed far, far less infuriating to Ed. Typically, Al would have just had a giant stone fist hit him in the rear within the time it took to clap. …Or longer. The time it took to clap and the time it took to actually perform a transmutation –analyzing, decomposing, rearranging, and creating- weren't as close as most bystanders seemed to think.

"Al, do you want to get your body back?"

An equally infuriating question, at least to Alphonse. It was Ed's response every time, over the now four years they'd been searching, and yet as much as Al stood up to Ed with every comeback his, literally, empty head could think of, he couldn't deny it. They _did_ have a cause to pursue, and the tiniest hint of their goal could mean a world of difference for the brothers. Insignificant or not, their current lead was in fact that. A lead.

"Nii-san, I just…"

"I'm as afraid of disappointment as you are, Al. Trick is not to get your hopes up. In times like these, optimism is a set-up for disappointment."

Ed sifted his bag on his shoulder nonchalantly as the two of them strode onward.

"That's not a terribly positive outlook, Nii-san. Though, I guess, when it comes to following leads this small, a positive outlook is only as good as the outcome…" Which, it turned out, was often a terribly disappointing one. But somehow even their failures seemed to give them hope. Maybe it was Al's optimism and strength in the face of defeat. Or maybe it was just knowing that they'd eliminated one more possibility. After all, how many possibilities were out there…? Not many, now that both the Ishbalan and conventional methods seemed to both involve the sacrifices of many, many lives.

Ed, however, only lurched at the word "small", looked stunned for a minute, and then kept up his pace with Alphonse. Al knew their meeting with Russell, who had impersonated Edward and was a head above him, was always fresh in his brother's mind. Well… Ed's height had always been fresh in his mind, but leave it to a boy his age with a good eight inches on him and his name as a mask to make his brother more sensitive than ever to certain adjectives. Were it not for Ed knowing that Al wouldn't dare remark about his height, he'd probably be minus a few metal appendages for saying the word.

They had only one goal now – to get to Ishbal and get to the bottom of what happened. The memory of the two brothers' recent fight over their goal was still fresh in both their minds, but when a lead on the Stone had come up, seemingly out of nowhere, that happened to be nearby… Well, admitting he couldn't risk the chance of losing potentially valuable clues, Ed and Al had agreed to investigate before continuing to Ishbal. It was a risky choice, but a necessary one. …Not to mention that Martel was a tad peeved at being left behind. But if there were some way, without the needless slaughter… It was worth looking into.

Al was startled when Ed stopped suddenly. Startled, but not for the first time. His feet stopped him inches behind Ed. They'd had so many (often heavily embarrassing and public) instances where Ed's impulsive movements sent the two of them into one heaving, writhing tangle of arms, legs, metal and foul language until some bystander thought to help them up, Al seemed to just automatically stop when his brother did.

"Al. I thought there was a town here."

"Hm? Oh! Yeah. We were going to stop and rest for the night!"

"Yeah, glad you remember." The twinge of sarcasm and irritation in Ed's voice was a well-understood warning that Ed's "short" temper was reaching its peak.

"But… I don't see anything around here, Nii-san."

As if to confirm this, Al turned his head, glowing eyes scanning the landscape. The empty grasslands and moors were a welcome relief from the sandy wastelands they'd previously gone over. It was a rare warm, dry day, and the empty moors that had once been sodden – like quicksand for Al's heavy body – were now little more than caked dirt and vegetation.

"I sure hope it rains soon…" Al though alound, peering down at an already-drying patch of reed-like plant life near his foot. "This place looks like it thrives on water. The animals living here will all dry up, too."

Whereas normally Ed would become irate should Al's concern for the natural world pop up, particularly where they had a more pressing issue at hand, his brother merely nodded. "Hai. Looks like storm clouds in the distance."

"Ah. But it's getting dark. They could be any clouds."

"Guess we'll just hope for the best then, eh Al?"

"Hey! I thought optimism was a set-up for disappointment."

Ed's grin could've lit the entire sky enough to tell.

"But… This map." Ed's gloved finger scrolled down the crumpled parchment. "I can't have read it wrong. We should be in the middle of a hat shop!"

Glancing down at the map and going over it carefully as Ed had, Al was as perplexed as his brother. "We should be, but… Oh! Didn't we get this map way back in Xenotime? That place was so deteriorated at the time… Maybe they didn't have a reliable map?" Al suggested. It wasn't much, but it was a possibility. They knew all too well that times could change and entire cities could disappear like they where never built. And though Xenotime was home to the best goldsmiths, their mapmaking may not have been up to par….

"_Ee, sou desu!_ Look! This map was written over fifty years ago… In a place like this, the townspeople must have realized there wasn't much profit to be made and moved on."

Well, they had that figured out… So they wouldn't have a place to stay on their way to what was probably another useless lead on the Philosopher's Stone. Al could see what Ed meant, though, he'd like to think he was handling it a bit better than his brother…

"_Shimatta!_" Ed's disappointment wasn't something he was apt to hide.

"Nii-san, why don't we spend the night here? Izumi-sensei…"

Half way through the sentence, Al knew he'd said the wrong thing.

"I don't care what Sensei put us through! I want a bed! I want a roof! Food! _Hara heta_!"

It was all Alphose could do to sigh. His brother wasn't picky, or greedy… The bare essentials were few and far between for them sometimes. But for his brother to let his temper get the best of him every time…

"Baka Nii-san! You could transmute a roof over your head!"

"That's not the point…" Ed muttered, averting Al's gaze.

"Oh! Didn't you bring food?" Al began furiously groping around in his own bags, trying to find anything edible. If he had to lift Ed's spirits, the thought of food other than marsh toad, medium rare, was sure to do it.

"Hai! I saved some of the snacks I nitched from the Taisan!" Ed proclaimed, proudly displaying a package of sweets.

Al didn't know which made Ed happier – having food, or having stolen it from Taisan Mustang. Either way, Ed seemed like he was going to survive the night without too much complaint. It wasn't as though this were a new routine for them… Despite his own mechanical form, Al could never forget to stop and rest for his brother's sake. Edward was often one to push himself far beyond his limit, and it was Alphonse who always forced him to rest. In some ways, Al was more aware of his own metal-encased humanity than Ed was of _his_. Viewed as a genius – unstoppable, inhuman – to some, he himself hardly seemed aware that he could and would always overdo it for the sake of perseverance. But Alphonse loved his brother, and it was that concern that had forced Edward to stop putting himself last.

"Hey, Al! You think I could sleep in you tonight?"

Al was so taken aback that he couldn't bring himself to answer.

"I know it sounds strange, but considering all the false leads we've gotten… Well, I'd just like to be as close to you as I can." Edward gave him a quick, meaningful smile, and it was all Al could do to nod.

"Ah. Someday we'll feel each other again, Nii-san."

Al completed this statement by gently cupping a leather-clad gauntlet under Ed's chin to meet his gaze. Still smiling, Ed rested his own palm on top. It was too awkward for them to intertwine their hands anymore than this… With both of Ed's being small and incapable compared to Al's hulking, clumsy gauntlets.

Al couldn't help but let his thumb stroke over his brother's features. All of that skin! Perfect tan _skin_ covering him so beautifully… His brother was so soft, so warm… and yet he was nothing more than solid matter to Al's touch. He softly stroked over his brother's lips, startling him. It was his mouth that Al found most fascinating. His lips, though chapped, were so soft! He could do so much with that mouth of his –often more than Al would have liked- whereas Al only had a giant, jagged decoration more likely to intimidate than to appeal.

"When that day comes, believe me, you're going to have to work on carrying me," Ed joked. Al had to laugh, too. One of the greatest advantages of his metallic form was his ability to carry his brother on his back with ease. Though it was uncomfortable, it was useful. Al rarely grew tired, so it worked out perfectly that he could let Ed rest (usually, though, his brother snored so loudly that Al had to wonder how he _could_ regain his energy) on his back while he journeyed on. The only problem was that it was often very uncomfortable for Ed, as would be expected. He never said much about it, but Al knew.

"Nii-san, believe me, it'll be the first thing I do," Al responded.

"Iei. First you'll insist on cuddling with me for a minimal five hours."

"And you'd have a problem with that?" Alphonse combated.

"Iei. Not at all." Slowly Ed lowered their still-together hands and rested his head as close to his brother's "chest" as his short stature would allow. "I can already hear your heartbeat, Al. And someday, we'll both feel it."

Alphonse was taken aback. "That's illogical, Nii-san. I'm just a suit of armor; I have no need for a circulatory system. How can you hear something that's not there?"

Ed only smiled. "Your soul has a heart, Al. And when it's my blood connecting that soul to your armor… Believe me, it's hard not to hear."

"Nii-san… That's sweet of you to say."

It would have been a tender moment, where it not for Ed then seemingly exploding with the force of a gigantic yawn.

"Ah. Best get to rest, Al."

"Hai. Climb in." Al hastily knelt down and removed his helmet. The last thing Ed did was smile before disappearing into the darkness of his brother's body.

"We'll get going first thing when we wake up," Ed instructed. "If we get a move on, we'll get there in good time to look around. If it turns out to be another bum, we might be able to turn back before dark."

"Isn't that optimism, Nii-san?" Al joked once more.

"Shut up, Al," Ed grumbled, the slightest hint of humor in his tone.

"Love you, Nii-san," Al whispered. No matter what the day had brought or how exhausted they were, it was always a ritual for them. It seemed the other couldn't rest without that seemingly unnecessary confirmation.

"Love you, too, Al."

* * *

I know my writing skills aren't up to par, but please leave me a few! I love feedback, good or bad! I apologize if the all-too-common integration of Japanese confused anyone... Here are a couple translations for the tougher ones since I'm feeling nice. : 

** Ee, sou desu** - You are right; that's right

**Shimatta** - Several different translations. Depending on the context, it's usually "Oh no!" or, more commonly in FMA, "Damn it!", or, less commonly, "Oh, shit!" It's probably safe to translate as "Damn it!"

**Hara Heta** - Exaggeration of hunger, often used humorously or in a whiny tone. Equivalent to "I'm starving!"

**Taisan** - Colonel. To follow traditional language, I'm pretty sure it should come AFTER his name, but I don't care to confuse the non-Wapanese readers more than I have to. xD

I know this chapter was very simple, short, and sweet, so sorry if you guys were expecting Al to ravish his brother on Roy's desk. xD Remember! Review Me continuing! yay!


	2. Chapter 2

**The Lightest Touch**

_Chapter Two_

**Notes: **Oh. My. God. I updated. I'm sorry for the wait. Much thanks to Nostalgic5947. :3 Reviews like that keep me going. And hey. If you read this story, please review it. I really, really appreciate it. :)

When it came to waking up, the brothers were used to surprises. Angry landowners, drunken beggars, kittens… But being literally rattled around by a snake chimera, and an _extremely_ irate-looking one at that, was a new one even for them.

"Get your lazy asses _up_!"

Realizing the "just five more minutes" gig wasn't likely to work on Martel, Ed groaned and restrained himself from banging his head on the inside of Al's chest.

"M-Martel! What are you doing here?!" Al sputtered. Ed snorted. He wasn't the least bit surprised. Chances were when Martel had her mind set on something, she was apt to get it. He'd known from the start there was no getting her to stay behind.

"Aw, c'mon, Alphonse. Didn't think I could leave you two alone, did you? After all, I didn't want to lose you two so soon. I'd rather not have to rely on Ed after he'd transmuted his foot up some poor guy's ass for calling him small." Martel finished this statement with a smirk and a wink.

"WHO DID YOU SAY WAS LIKE A GRAIN OF RICE SO TINY YOU COULD NEVER FIND HIM IF YOU DROPPED HIM IN THE GRASS?!" Ed quite literally erupted from Al's armor, knocking his helmet clear off. It was kind of a funny sight: a psychotic blonde creature flailing around with half his body outside a suit of armor, with said armor desperately groping around for his brother's arms so as to restrain him.

"Self-conscious, eh?" Martel was as laid-back as ever, nothing but amusement was apparent across her sharp features.

"Seriously, Martel," Al started, still trying to calm Ed down. "You shouldn't have followed us!"

"I don't know if you noticed, but snakes aren't exactly the most cooperative species," Martel remarked before briefly flashing the tip of her tongue.

"We noticed," the brothers responded in unison.

"Come on, it's not like the two of you are doing anything special," Martel said. Her eyes briefly flickered across the sky. "Looks like rain tonight, eh?"

"But Martel… You were supposed to remain back in town in case something happened! It's no good if all three of us get killed!" Ed combated, still seething over Martel's brief mention of his size.

"That's optimistic," she snorted.

"Nii-san hasn't been optimistic for quite some time," Al chimed in, speaking so casually that he might as well have been mentioning the oncoming rain. 

"Okay, Al, that's enough! All I was saying is that…"

"Yeah, yeah… Best not to always get your hopes up," Martel said, waving him off. "Greed had us follow a similar outlook. It was pretty useless, seeing as none of us had much left to lose, anyways."

"That's why you followed us, wasn't it?" Al asked.

Martel shrugged. "Guess so. Gives me some purpose. Not to mention that there's next to nothing to do elsewhere. Snakes are always in need of a little fun, you know." Once more, Martel gave her trademark wink.

"…Something tells me that your adventurous nature has nothing to do with the nature of your species, Martel," Ed remarked.

For the first time that they'd seen, Martel blushed. They had to guess it was the closest thing to a true compliment she'd received in a while. A remark about who Martel was, not the nature of what she was.

"You're not so bad, kid." Martel gave Ed, still half-outside Al, a quick flick on the forehead. "Guess that's why I stick with you."

Ed smirked, and then heaved himself out of Al in one fluid, graceful motion. He landed almost perfectly on his feet and straightened to meet (or, rather, look up into) Martel's eyes.

"Well, guess we'd better get going. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can head to Ishbal."

"You two seem pretty intent on going there," Martel commented. Ed simply shrugged and walked on, motioning for Martel and Al, who was still replacing his helmet, to follow.

"So, we're just supposed to wander around?" Al said after a short while.

Ed shrugged and buried his hands in his pockets. "Guess so. According to the map, we've got about another couple hours or so before we hit the next town… And that's if we run." He sighed heavily and hung his head.

"Say, Nii-san…"

"Hm?" Ed looked up for a moment, as he always did for Al.

"I almost never tire. You up to riding on my shoulders?"

Ed grinned. "I thought you hated it when I did that."

"Only when you're doing it because you're too lazy to do your own running! This time there's a reason for it. Ed, up! Martel, in-"

"Gotcha," Martel responded, and hastily leapt into the empty suit just as Al took off his helmet. With a similar grace, his brother hoisted himself onto his younger brother's shoulders, and smiled as Al found a grip on his legs without so much as looking up. He knew Ed's body, his movements, his posture that well. Then again, this was far from the first time he'd hitched a ride on his brother's shoulders… He grinned hard as said brother sped forward, and with his hair, loosely bound in its usual braid, flailing behind him, he couldn't resist extending an arm and pointing ahead in a mock gesture of directing Al forward.

"Nii-san, you're having way too much fun."

"Yeah, right! It's like I tell you! You've got to enjoy these things while they last, Al!"

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By the time they'd reached town, Ed was more than tired of riding on cold metal shoulders. This was made further evident as he stepped down from his "seat" rubbing his behind. Martel couldn't hold back a snicker.

"Yeah, you think this is funny? How about we swap asses for a while and see how hard you're laughing then!"

"Oh relax. At least we're here."

Ed nodded, and, getting back to business, whipped out his map. "Boentine, eh? Weird name for a town. Al and I heard an alchemist here succeeded in transmuting a bunch of different plant species into a complete Philosopher's Stone."

Martel raised an eyebrow. "That's about the stupidest thing I've heard all month, and I've been frequenting bars full of drunken idiots."

"Like we said, it's not much of a lead, but it's worth looking into. Even if it's just a cheap substitute, it could mean a lot for alchemic research," Al responded.

Martel shrugged, and Ed motioned the two of them to follow him. They quickly complied.

The town has much the same as any other they'd visited. Ed sighed and buried his hands in his pockets. Despite the ominous darkness beginning to shroud over the far-off horizon, it _was_ bright out. He briefly closed his eyes, and the hustle and bustle of a busy town receded deep into his mind. Some taverns, food stands, clothing stores and small businesses… It was all the same to someone as traveled as Edward. He'd become immune to the idle chatter – the crowds and the distant whirr of machinery. That's not to say he didn't keep his guard up. He'd learned his lesson about relaxing too much after being faced with everything from stray prostitutes to Ishbalan murderers.

"Um, Nii-san… You think we should ask around?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to get a little sick of the 'wandering around with vague hope of our goal popping up in front of us' tactic," Martel grumbled from beside Alphonse.

"Eh, guess so. I could certainly go for a bite to eat about now, too…" Ed mused, before becoming completely detached from their mission by the thought of food.

---

"Nii-san, have some manners!"

If Al had any breath, he would have been better off saving it. When it came to manners, understanding social boundaries, and general knowledge of communication with the outside world, it was easy to see how the brothers differed. Ed sometimes never bothered to look anyone in the eye when he spoke to them, _never_ watched his posture, his language, or his manners, and worst of all, seldom ate without piling massive amounts of food into his mouth to exceed its capacity and grotesquely chewing it in a fashion that made sure to draw everyone's attention.

Martel sighed and slouched back in her chair while sipping at her drink with mild interest. She kept an eye on Ed, apparently fascinated. While she'd seen things during Ishbal and the experimentations in Lab 5 that exceeded anyone's idea of the word "interesting", she'd never experienced anything quite like what was directly in front of her. 

"Where does it all _go_?"

Al shifted a little in his too-small seat. "Well, despite the two of us being among the most gifted scientific minds in the State, we still haven't figured that one out."

"Aw, shawup, 'oo two," Ed managed between forkfuls of his dinner. They had to laugh.

By the time they'd headed upstairs to their room, they were all more than ready for the comfort of a roof and bed. The inn was small, but cozy, with a homey feel that seemed to linger in the air as much so as the ever-present aroma of cooking. Ed yawned happily as he fell back into a surprisingly comfortable bed.

"I'm telling you, Al. When we get your body back, I'm taking you back here just to smell this place. It's enough to make me hungry all over again!"

Martel rolled her eyes. "I was amazed the bed didn't collapse under you from the weight of all the food you ate…" Al nodded, chuckling.

"Oh lay off, you guys. When most of my meals've been stolen from the taisa, can you blame me for enjoying myself?"

It'd be a while before any of them relaxed enough to think about sleep. Even though he was exhausted, Ed had a hard time shutting his mind down. Once again, he was thinking about the boy he should see sitting on the end of his bed, or, better yet, curled in his arms. Or maybe Al wouldn't want him close when he came to realize that what he'd lost was entirely Ed's own fault. But it didn't matter what path Al chose – just as long as his brother could feel again.

"Nii-san, you've got that look on your face again."

For the most part, Ed was hard to read. While he might not be cut out for theatre, he was quite the actor. Very few knew him well enough to know "I'm fine" could just as easily mean "I am roughly two seconds away from pushing up daisies."

As would be expected, Ed was practically an open book to his brother. The moment something went wrong, or he began to worry, Al knew, and without any hint from Ed, he usually knew why.

Right now he had on his "it's all my fault" face.

"Al. I don't want to worry you."

"Nii-san, we'll get there someday. That's all that matters. And when that happens, nothing else will matter besides the fact that we'll be together."

"…Yeah." Ed's voice caught in his throat, and, wordlessly, he padded over to Al, looking up at the armor before resting his head on his brother, the same as he had the night before. 

Al's immediate reaction was his metallic arms around his older brother, who suddenly seemed so much more vulnerable. Ed always promised Al he'd do anything to look out for him, but it was Al who always kept Edward in shape enough for him to keep that promise. 

The two of them functioned like two different components making up one machine. They functioned as one. And in due time, their hearts would beat as one.

They discussed this in soft, hushed voices, so as not to wake Martel. Little did they know, the snake chimera was very much awake, and smiling softly at their words. The two of them really were soul mates, she thought. But… what exactly did that mean for the brothers?

Though they both wondered the same thing, neither spoke of it. Instead, Ed crawled up so that Al's gaze was level with his, and said simply, "We'll breathe together."

Al nodded, and gasped in surprise as his elder brother's soft lips – the ones he adored so much – kissed him where he would have had a mouth. Ed said nothing more and withdrew quickly, and, with a quick smile, crawled back over to his pillow. "I'm ready for sleep. After all this trucking around, a bed like this is no small luxury. 'Night, Al. I love you."

"I love you, too, Nii-san," Al responded immediately, and sighed contentedly as he began to gently stroke his nearly asleep brother's hair back away from his beautiful face. For the first time in a long time, Edward carried his smile with him into sleep.


End file.
